Hurricane Hank’s owner Brian Mathae had a rude awakening in June when he checked the payroll records and now his former manager, Benjamin Conlon, faces a fraud charge.
Mathae said it began when he checked the manager’s computer for earnings and allegedly found duplicate paychecks to Conlon.
He called the police and Holmes Beach Detective Sgt. Brian Hall started an investigation. He found Conlon had allegedly taken $13,680 more than was allowed. Mathae found out Conlon was the only person to have access to the payroll.
Hall sent a report to the state attorney’s office, and Conlon was arrested. He was bailed out and faces an arraignment on Nov. 9.
Mathae said he was disappointed, and his priority is to get back the money that was lost.
“The profit margin is tight in the restaurant business,” he said. “This happened while tourism took a hit because of red tide.”